Can Valentine’s Day last a whole year? In fashion, yes. The 2023 trends yield to romanticism, with catwalks and collections that shine the spotlight on the symbol of love par excellence. The heart, whether stylized or anatomical, after peeping out during the 2022 collections, is also confirmed as the protagonist of the new year, gently overwhelming the wardrobe for the summer. There are many theories that try to trace the origins of the heart symbol. Some historians argue that its stylized form is closely linked to religious iconography, although the Christian convention of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which appeared in a dream to Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque, dates back only to 1600. But there are those who trace its roots even further back, in Aristotle’s Ancient Greece. The philosopher was one of the first to describe the shape of the pulsating organ, seat of passions and sensations. From the approximate description of him, then, the medieval monks drew a series of anatomical tables of the heart muscle, with drawings similar to the current stylization. But popularity was achieved only in the fourteenth century, with the famous Shakespearean quote “to wear your heart on your sleeve” – “wear your heart on your sleeve” – in the first act of Othello.
Philip FiorLAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHTS
However, in fashion, there are also those who prefer to stay true to the real anatomy of the heart. This is the case of Schiaparelli, which since its inception in 1920 has woven an ode to the human body through its precious and surreal couture creations. Poised between sculptures and clothes, the creative director Daniel Roseberry still expands the aesthetic matrix of the fashion house today, and makes the heart a symbol of luxury, restlessness and passion. Kylie Jenner showed off the choker with the black anatomical heart pendant at the haute couture show last October, while Nicole Kidman chose it in gold, with the lock in the center, for the Art Directors Guild Award 2023.
Isidore MontagLAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHTS
Never without a touch of fun and irreverence, it was Moschino who laid the foundations for this trend on the Spring Summer 2023 catwalk: a parade of red hearts applied on blazers, mini dresses and décolleté paved the way for a veritable carnival of colors and cartoonish silhouettes. Eccentric and lively, Moschino’s inflatable hearts beat in unison and also invade accessories, with earrings with massive pendants, cherry red bangles and biker bags that suddenly turn into tokens of love. The same charge of emotion overwhelms the Acne Studios Spring Summer 2023 catwalk, which as in a romance novel stages a series of delicate and light proposals, albeit with a melancholy note. Here, the heart is an imprint on the fabric that meets bows, silk georgette and bucolic embroidery, for a story full of tenderness and innocence.
Daniel OberrauchLAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHTS
Instead, the Spring Summer of Nensi Dojaka aims to seduce: the lingerie falls in love with the dress, and from their union bralettes and mini dresses are born that incorporate heart-shaped hardware, firmly in the center of the chest. A seduction that continues and intensifies on the Vivetta summer catwalk, which intertwines the codes of love with those of y2k and carves out a heart along the hems of bandeau tops, on the chest of shirts and on the micro cups of bikinis. For Vivetta the symbol of love becomes a game and evokes the naive and provocative spirit of a contemporary coquette. Passionate, romantic, attractive and pop, her heart continues to seal her message of union even in the fashion world.